Employee Benefits Survey

Employee Benefits in the United States News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, July 20, 2018 USDL-18-1182
Technical information: (202) 691-6199 ncsinfo@bls.gov www.bls.gov/ebs
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 pressoffice@bls.gov
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS IN THE UNITED STATES – MARCH 2018
Medical care benefits were available to 69 percent of private industry workers and 89 percent of state
and local government workers in March 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In
private industry, access to employer-sponsored medical care benefits varied by establishment size. Fifty-
five percent of private industry workers in small establishments (those with fewer than 100 employees)
were offered medical care benefits. These benefits were offered to 83 percent of workers in medium-size
establishments (those employing between 100 and 499 workers) and 88 percent of workers in large
establishments (those with 500 employees or more). In state and local government, medical care benefits
were available to 85 percent of workers in small establishments, 86 percent of workers in medium-size
establishments, and 92 percent of workers in large establishments. (See tables A and 1.)
In private industry, paid sick leave was available to 62 percent of workers in small establishments, 79
percent of workers in medium-size establishments, and 87 percent of workers in large establishments.
Small establishments provided paid vacation to 70 percent of workers, whereas the benefit was provided
to 85 percent of those working in medium-size establishments and 89 percent of those working in large
establishments. Access to paid holidays was available to 71 percent of workers in small establishments,
86 percent of workers in medium-size establishments, and 88 percent of workers in large establishments.
(See table 5.)

NOTE: For definitions of major plans, key provisions, and related terms, see the "Glossary of Employee Benefit Terms" at www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/glossary20162017.htm and the technical note.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

Civilian workers
* For full-time workers, access to medical care benefits was 88 percent and the take-up rate was
74 percent. For part-time workers, access to medical care benefits was 21 percent and the take-up
rate was 56 percent. (See table 1.)
* The share of medical care premiums paid by employees was 20 percent for single coverage and
32 percent for family coverage. (See tables 2 and 3.)
* Life insurance was available to 17 percent of workers with an average wage in the lowest 10
percent category and to 85 percent of workers with an average wage in the highest 10 percent
category. The take-up rate was 89 percent for the lowest 10 percent category and 99 percent for
the highest 10 percent category. (See table 4.)
Private industry workers
* For union workers, access to medical care benefits was 94 percent and access to life insurance
was 85 percent. Nonunion workers' access to these benefits was 66 percent for medical care and
54 percent for life insurance. (See tables 1 and 4.)
* The shares of medical care premiums paid by employees for single coverage was 19 percent for
establishments employing 500 workers or more and 23 percent for establishments employing 50
to 99 workers. For family coverage, the employees' share of medical care premiums was 24
percent for establishments employing 500 workers or more and 40 percent for establishments
employing 50 to 99 workers. (See tables 2 and 3.)
State and local government workers
* Life insurance was available to 91 percent of full-time workers and 89 percent participated. The
benefit was available to 24 percent of part-time workers and 23 percent participated. (See table 4.)
* Ninety-one percent of workers had access to paid sick leave. Access to paid vacation was 61
percent and to paid holidays was 68 percent. (See table 5.)
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Additional Estimates Available Fall 2018
Retirement benefits data included in prior news releases will be published September 21, 2018, with
information on additional employer-sponsored benefits. For all available benefits publications, see
www.bls.gov/ncs/ncspubs.htm.
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TECHNICAL NOTE
Estimates in this release are from the National Compensation Survey (NCS), conducted by the U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This news release contains March 2018
estimates on the incidence (access to and participation in) of selected employer-sponsored benefits and
the share of premiums paid by employers and employees for medical plans for civilian, private industry,
and state and local government workers in the United States. Workers in the civilian economy are
defined as those employed in private industry and state and local government. Excluded from the
civilian economy are workers employed in federal and quasi-federal agencies, military personnel,
agricultural workers, volunteers, unpaid workers, individuals receiving long-term disability
compensation, and those working overseas. In addition, private industry excludes workers in private
households, the self-employed, workers who set their own pay (e.g., proprietors, owners, major
stockholders, and partners in unincorporated firms), and family members paid token wages.
The NCS provides comprehensive measures of compensation cost levels and trends and also provides
benefits incidence estimates on the percentage of workers with access to and participating in employer-
provided benefit plans. The survey covers a broad range of benefits including paid leave, life insurance,
and detailed provisions for health care and retirement plans. Archived NCS releases are available at
www.bls.gov/ncs/ncspubs.htm.
Comparing private and public sector data: Employee benefits in state and local government should
not be directly compared to private industry. Differences between these sectors stem from factors such
as variation in work activities and occupational structures. Manufacturing and sales, for example, make
up a large part of private industry work activities but are rare in state and local government.
Administrative support and professional occupations (including teachers) account for two-thirds of the
state and local government workforce, compared with one-half of private industry.
Standard errors: To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of benefits estimates, standard errors are
made available with publication of the news release. Standard errors provide users a measure of the
precision of an estimate to ensure that it is within an acceptable range for its intended purpose. For
further information see www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/nb_var.htm.
Leave benefits for teachers: Primary, secondary, and special education teachers typically have a work
schedule of 37 or 38 weeks per year. Because of this work schedule, they are generally not offered
vacations or holidays. In many cases, the time off during winter and spring breaks during the school year
are not considered vacation days for the purposes of this survey.
Medical plan premiums: The estimates for medical plan premiums are not based on actual decisions
regarding medical coverage made by employees; instead they are based on the assumption that all
employees in the occupation can opt for single or family coverage. Monthly premiums are collected
when possible. Annual premiums are converted to monthly premiums by dividing by 12 months.
Sample rotation: One-third of the private industry sample is rotated each year except in years when the
government sample is replaced. The government sample is replaced less frequently than the private
industry sample. The state and local government sample was replaced in its entirety for the March 2017
reference period.
Sample size:

Footnotes:(1) The sampling frame was developed from state unemployment insurance reports and is based on
the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). With some minor exceptions, an
establishment is a single economic unit that engages in one, or predominantly one, type of
economic activity. For private industry, the establishment is usually at a single physical
location such as a mine, factory, office, or store; if a sampled establishment is owned by a
larger entity with many locations, only the employment and characteristics of the establishment
selected for the sample are considered for the survey. For state and local governments, an
establishment can include more than one physical location, such as a school district or a police
department.(2) Establishments that provided data at the initial interview.(3) Establishments that did not provide data at the initial interview. Data for establishments not responding at the time of update interviews are imputed. For information on nonresponse adjustment and imputation, see “National Compensation Measures,” BLS Handbook of Methods available at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/home.htm.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

Footnotes:(1) The 2010 Standard Occupational Classification system is used to classify workers.(2) The numbers of workers represented by the survey are rounded to the nearest 100. Estimates of the
number of workers provide a description of the size and composition of the labor force included in the survey.
Estimates are not intended, however, for comparison to other statistical series to measure employment trends
or levels.

NOTE: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. Dashes indicate that no estimates for
this characteristic are provided in this publication.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

Calculations for average wage categories: Estimates by worker average wage are grouped into six
wage categories- the lowest 10 percent, the lowest 25 percent, the second 25 percent, the third 25
percent, the highest 25 percent, and the highest 10 percent. The categories use percentile values based on
unpublished March 2018 wages and salaries from the BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation
publication.
The percentiles are computed using average hourly earnings from sampled occupations within an
establishment. Establishments in the survey are asked to report only individual worker earnings and
scheduled hours of work for each sampled job. For the calculation of the percentile values, the
individual worker hourly wages are weighted and arrayed from lowest to highest. The values
corresponding to the percentiles are:

Characteristics

Average hourly wage percentiles

10

25

50 (median)

75

90

Civilian

$10.28

$13.18

$19.87

$31.55

$47.78

Private industry

$10.00

$12.75

$18.78

$30.08

$46.73

State and local government

$13.47

$18.14

$26.94

$38.41

$52.36

Individual workers can fall into a wage category different from the average for the occupation into
which they are classified because average hourly wages for the occupation are used to produce the
benefit estimates.
Definitions of major terms:
Access: Employees are considered to have access to a benefit plan if it is available for their use. For
example, if an employee is permitted to participate in a medical plan offered by the employer, but the
employee declines to do so, he or she is placed in a category with those having access to medical care
benefits.
Participation: Employees in contributory plans are considered participants if they have paid required
contributions and fulfilled any applicable service requirements. Employees in noncontributory plans are
counted as participating regardless of whether they have fulfilled the service requirements. Note that the
term "incidence" can refer to either rates of access or rates of participation in a benefit plan.
Take-up rate: The percentage of workers with access to a plan and who participate in the plan.
Medical care benefits provide services or payments for services rendered in the hospital or by a
qualified medical care provider.
Obtaining information: For technical information on survey methods, see "National Compensation
Measures," in the BLS Handbook of Methods at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/home.htm. The Concepts
section of the Handbook provides definitions for worker and establishment characteristics, including
geographic areas. For BLS research articles on employee benefits, see the Monthly Labor Review at
www.bls.gov/opub/mlr, Beyond the Numbers: Pay and Benefits at www.bls.gov/opub/btn and The
Economics Daily at www.bls.gov/opub/ted.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.
Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Footnotes(1) Includes workers in private industry and state and local government. See Technical Note for further explanation.(2) The take-up rate is calculated from the unrounded percentage of workers with access to a plan and who participate in the plan.(3) Surveyed occupations are classified into wage categories based on the average wage for the occupation, which may include workers with earnings both above and below the threshold. The categories were formed using percentile estimates generated using data from the National Compensation Survey publication, "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation - March 2018."

NOTE: Dash indicates no workers in this category or data did not meet publication criteria. For definitions of major plans, key provisions, and related terms, see the "Glossary of Employee Benefit Terms" at www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/glossary20162017.htm.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

Table 2. Medical plans: Share of premiums paid by employer and employee for single coverage, March 2018[In percent]

Footnotes(1) Includes workers in private industry and state and local government. See Technical Note for further explanation.(2) Surveyed occupations are classified into wage categories based on the average wage for the occupation, which may include workers with earnings both above and below the threshold. The categories were formed using percentile estimates generated using data from the National Compensation Survey publication, "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation - March 2018."

NOTE: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. Dash indicates no workers in this category or data did not meet publication criteria. For definitions of major plans, key provisions, and related terms, see the "Glossary of Employee Benefit Terms" at www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/glossary20162017.htm.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

Table 3. Medical plans: Share of premiums paid by employer and employee for family coverage, March 2018[In percent]

Footnotes(1) Includes workers in private industry and state and local government. See Technical Note for further explanation.(2) Surveyed occupations are classified into wage categories based on the average wage for the occupation, which may include workers with earnings both above and below the threshold. The categories were formed using percentile estimates generated using data from the National Compensation Survey publication, "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation - March 2018."

NOTE: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. Dash indicates no workers in this category or data did not meet publication criteria. For definitions of major plans, key provisions, and related terms, see the "Glossary of Employee Benefit Terms" at www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/glossary20162017.htm.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

Footnotes(1) Includes workers in private industry and state and local government. See Technical Note for further explanation.(2) The take-up rate is calculated from the unrounded percentage of workers with access to a plan and who participate in the plan.(3) Surveyed occupations are classified into wage categories based on the average wage for the occupation, which may include workers with earnings both above and below the threshold. The categories were formed using percentile estimates generated using data from the National Compensation Survey publication, "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation - March 2018."

NOTE: Dash indicates no workers in this category or data did not meet publication criteria. For definitions of major plans, key provisions, and related terms, see the "Glossary of Employee Benefit Terms" at www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/glossary20162017.htm.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

Footnotes(1) Includes workers in private industry and state and local government. See Technical Note for further explanation.(2) Surveyed occupations are classified into wage categories based on the average wage for the occupation, which may include workers with earnings both above and below the threshold. The categories were formed using percentile estimates generated using data from the National Compensation Survey publication, "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation - March 2018."

NOTE: Dash indicates no workers in this category or data did not meet publication criteria. For definitions of major plans, key provisions, and related terms, see the "Glossary of Employee Benefit Terms" at www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/glossary20162017.htm.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.